Jean-Pierre Laffont

Jean-Pierre Laffont attended the School of Graphic Art in Vevey, Switzerland, where he graduated with a Master’s Degree in Photography. 

He was a founding member of the Gamma USA and Sygma Photo News agencies. For more than five decades, Laffont traveled the globe, covering the news, the people, and the social and economic issues of his time. His photos were published in the world's leading news magazines, including Le Figaro, London Sunday Times, Newsweek, Paris Match, Stern, and Time. He was named one of the one hundred most important people in photography. Among the numerous awards Laffont has received are the Overseas Press Club of America's Madeline Dane Ross Award, the World Press Photo General Picture Award, University of Missouri's World Understanding Award and First Prize from the New York Newspaper Guild. In 1996 he was honored with the National French Order of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (a Knight in the National French Order of Arts and Letters). In 2016 Jean Pierre was named International Photographer of the Year of the Pingyao Photo Festival in China. In 2020 he received The Lucie Award for Achievement in Photojournalism and The Visa D’Or Award du Figaro Magazine for Lifetime Achievement. In 2023, he was nominated to the grade of Chevalier de la Légion D’Honneur  (Knight of the Legion of Honor) for 60 years at the service of photojournalism. French-born Jean-Pierre Laffont is a leading figure in culture and photojournalism all around the world. Laffont resides in New York with his wife Eliane.